The nation’s epidemic of new H1N1 flu may have peaked except in New York, New Jersey and New England, a leading federal health expert said Tuesday.

“In the country as a whole, influenza is starting to decrease,” says Ann Schuchat of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The agency has tallied 6,764 confirmed or probable cases and 10 deaths nationwide, Schuchat says, more than half of the global total of 12,954 cases reported Tuesday by the World Health Organization. Laboratory testing indicates that the new H1N1 virus — commonly referred to as swine flu— accounts for almost all of the flu virus now circulating nationwide.

Federal health officials haven’t dismissed the possibility that the worst is yet to come. Far from it, Schuchat says, noting that the horrific 1918 flu epidemic, which killed 20 million people in the United States alone, was preceded by a mild “herald” wave of cases in the spring, followed by devastating waves of illness in the fall. Read the rest of this entry »

Looking to make a change and lose some weight? I have reviewed the top diet on the internet and you can go and read over 200 comments people have made about why this diet has worked well for them, as well as some of the problems.

The Center for Disease Control is reporting that Measles Cases are at the highest rate in over 10 years. Most of the reason for the really high rate of Measles outbreaks is because of the fear of Autism from kids getting the

More measles cases have been reported in the United States since Jan. 1, 2008 than during the same period in any year since 1996, according to a report released today in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Measles Results for 2008

Between January 1 and July 31, 2008, 131 cases were reported to CDC′s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD). At least fifteen patients, including four children younger than 15 months of age, were hospitalized. No deaths have been reported. Read the rest of this entry »

I have often thought that exercise can help get rid of the symptoms and even the effects of Diabetes and today I see that there is yet another study that says that exercise can at the very least stop you from getting type 2 diabetes. It is one thing to say that exercise and good health stops you from getting sick but if you are not sick some will argue that you are just genetically predisposed to not getting sick.

Group-based diet and exercise lifestyle interventions over six years can prevent or delay diabetes for up to 14 years after the intervention period. But whether lifestyle interventions also lead to reduced cardiovascular disease (CVD) and mortality remains unclear. These are the conclusions of authors of an Article in this week’s Diabetes Special Issue of The Lancet.

While several major clinical trials around the world have shown the effectiveness of lifestyle interventions to reduce diabetes incidence in people with impaired glucose tolerance*, questions remain over how long post-intervention these strategies remain effective. Professor Guangwei Li, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing, China, and Dr Ping Zhang, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA, and colleagues did the China Da Qing Diabetes Prevention Outcome Study (CDQDPOS), which followed-up patients 20 years after enrollment. Read the rest of this entry »

Melamine was the biggest problem in the dog food recall a couple of weeks ago that was a result of dangerous dog food killing animals throughout north america. After that food scare some people started looking at the human food sources that may have melamine in them.

Today the FDA came out with a press release that stated that food for people does not seem to be dangerous. Here are a couple of quotes from that press release.

There is very low risk to human health from consuming meat from hogs and chickens known to have been fed animal feed supplemented with pet food scraps that contained melamine and melamine-related compounds, according to an assessment conducted by scientists from five federal agencies.

In the most extreme risk assessment scenario, when scientists assumed that all the solid food a person consumes in an entire day was contaminated with melamine at the levels observed in animals fed contaminated feed, the potential exposure was about 2,500 times lower than the dose considered safe. In other words, it was well below any level of public health concern.

The risk assessment is an important new science-based component of the continuing federal joint investigation into imported wheat gluten and rice protein concentrate from China that contained melamine and melamine-related compounds.

The risk assessment was conducted by scientists from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). This team is now compiling a scientific assessment of the risk to animal health associated with ingestion of animal feed containing melamine and its compounds.

Hopefully now we will not have to worry about melamine and can concentrate on all of the other issues from pesticides to salmonella in our food.

It is no big story that obesity rates are rising in the US but there are new numbers out, and reccomendations from The Trust for America’s Health.

The gravy train — make that the sausage, biscuits and gravy train — just kept on rolling in most of America last year, with 31 states showing an increase in obesity.

Mississippi continued to lead the way. An estimated 29.5 percent of adults there are considered obese. That is an increase of 1.1 percentage points when compared with last year’s report, which is compiled by Trust for America’s Health, an advocacy group that promotes increased funding for public health programs.

Meanwhile, Colorado remains the leanest state. About 16.9 percent of its adults are considered obese. That mark was also up slightly from last year’s report, but not enough to be considered statistically significant.

The only state that experienced a decrease in the percentage of obese adults last year was Nevada.

“Quick fixes and limited government programs have failed to stem the tide,” said Dr. Jeff Levi, executive director of the trust, in explaining the rise.

Health officials warn that the incidence of obesity in a particular state doesn’t mean it treats the issue less seriously than others. States have different challenges to contend with when it comes to obesity, said Dr. Janet Collins of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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We all see all of the colors of the vegetables when we go to the grocery store, but do you know what vitamins, minerals and other nutrients are in the vegetables that we eat base on the color of the vegetable? Here is a list of all of the colors and the nutrients that those colors provide.

More Color More Health

Growing up you may have been told to eat your greens, but what about your reds, oranges, yellows and blues? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the 5 A Day Partnership encourages YOU to “Sample the Spectrum” of the colorful vegetables and fruit available this season. By putting something of every color on your plate or in your lunch bag, you are more likely to eat the 5 to 9 recommended servings of vegetables and fruit every day. Just think: 1 cup of dark, leafy GREENS, ½ cup of RED tomatoes, ½ cup of YELLOW peppers, 6 oz. ORANGE juice and ½ cup of BLUEberries. And you have 5 A Day! It’s quite simple when you Sample the Spectrum.

The more reds, oranges, greens, yellows, and blues you see on the plate, the more health promoting properties you are also getting from your vegetable and fruit choices. Nutrition research shows that colorful vegetables and fruit contain essential vitamins, minerals, fiber, and phytochemicals that your body needs to promote health and help you feel great. Here are the specifics…
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All of us contact lens wearers know that it is a good idea to take good care of your lenses or your eyes will suffer. This includes cleaning contact lenses and not wearing your contact lenses for more than eight to ten hours. Here are some tips from the FDA.

The FDA and CDC are urgently advising consumers to take precautions to prevent contamination of the lenses and the products used to maintain them. These preventive practices include:

* Wash hands with soap and water, and dry (lint-free method) before handling lenses.
* Wear and replace lenses according to the schedule prescribed by the doctor.
* Follow the specific lens cleaning and storage guidelines from the doctor and the solution manufacturer.
* Keep the contact lens case clean and replace every 3-6 months.
* Remove the lenses and consult your doctor immediately if you experience symptoms such as redness, pain, tearing, increased light sensitivity, blurry vision, discharge or swelling.

In addition, regardless of which cleaning/disinfecting solution used, wearers may want to consider performing a “rub and rinse” lens cleaning method, rather than a no-rub method, in order to minimize the number of germs and reduce the chances of infection.

Bausch & Lomb has recommended that consumers stop using ReNu with MoistureLoc immediately and discard all remaining MoistureLoc solution including partially used or opened bottles. Both the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) continue to investigate reports of fungal keratitis in an effort to determine all contributing factors and/or products that may place contact lens wearers at increased risk for Fusarium keratitis. As part of this ongoing investigation, we are continuing joint inspections of the Bausch & Lomb plant and facilities in Greenville, SC including testing of products, environmental factors and raw materials. Because of the nature of the organism (Fusarium), extensive microbiological testing is being conducted and may take up to one month to fully analyze. We are committed to continuing a comprehensive approach aimed at determining the cause of these infections and will provide regular updates on our activities through preliminary public health notices issued through FDA.

As reported in the MMWR, patients with confirmed cases of Fusarium keratitis have reported using various contact lens cleaning solutions including various types of ReNu products and generics. We continue to confirm reported cases associated with products other than ReNu with MoistureLoc. Our interest in the MoistureLoc product is based on the disproportionate number of case of Fusarium keratitis associated with ReNu with Moisture Loc compared to the overall product market share. The trends of reported cases involving various contact lens solutions other than MoistureLoc have remained consistent throughout our investigation.

FDA continues to work with the CDC to investigate the Fusarium keratitis infections and will determine whether or not further action needs to be taken. While the investigation is ongoing, FDA will continue to update the public health notice and advice to consumers as needed. In addition, the FDA and CDC are urgently advising consumers to consult your doctor immediately if you experience symptoms such as redness, pain, tearing, increased light sensitivity, blurry vision, discharge or swelling. In addition, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released further clarification on the information on the multi-state outbreak of Fusarium keratitis that may be associated with contact lens use.